Burundi native accused in window-smashing case

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Action 7 News is learning more about a man with no hands who threw a volleyball sized boulder though a fast-food window.

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Man claims neighbor took his identity

Burundi native accused in window-smashing case

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Updated: 11:43 PM MDT Jun 5, 2012

An Albuquerque man is in custody after being accused of throwing a volleyball-sized rock through a fast food restaurant window.Investigators said the man -- who is without hands -- shattered two windows at the restaurant.As detectives investigate the case, the man's former neighbors are saying that the man isn't who he claims to be.Koffi Mbairamadji said he was stunned when people started asking him if he had been to jail recently.Mbairamadji said the man who broke the windows is actually known as Adjabo. He said Adjabo is from Burundi, a country in central Africa."He can't even read, so how can someone who doesn't know how to read can get my personal information?" Mbairamadji asked.Mbairamadji said Adjabo came to Albuquerque two years ago as a political refugee. He said he doesn't know how Adjabo lost his hands but that it's likely they were cut off during a battle in his native country.Mbairamadji said Adjabo can't speak or read English and is only fluent in Swahili. Adjabo is getting help from a nonprofit charity, according to his former neighbor."I told them, 'The guy can't help himself. He couldn't cope, he couldn't communicate with people -- and why don't they put him with relatives down there so they can help him?' Why do they isolate them alone?" Mbairamadji said.Sources said Adjabo has relatives who live in town. He's being held in custody on a $1,000 cash-only bond.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —

An Albuquerque man is in custody after being accused of throwing a volleyball-sized rock through a fast food restaurant window.

Investigators said the man -- who is without hands -- shattered two windows at the restaurant.

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As detectives investigate the case, the man's former neighbors are saying that the man isn't who he claims to be.

Koffi Mbairamadji said he was stunned when people started asking him if he had been to jail recently.

Mbairamadji said the man who broke the windows is actually known as Adjabo. He said Adjabo is from Burundi, a country in central Africa.

"He can't even read, so how can someone who doesn't know how to read can get my personal information?" Mbairamadji asked.

Mbairamadji said Adjabo came to Albuquerque two years ago as a political refugee. He said he doesn't know how Adjabo lost his hands but that it's likely they were cut off during a battle in his native country.

Mbairamadji said Adjabo can't speak or read English and is only fluent in Swahili. Adjabo is getting help from a nonprofit charity, according to his former neighbor.

"I told them, 'The guy can't help himself. He couldn't cope, he couldn't communicate with people -- and why don't they put him with relatives down there so they can help him?' Why do they isolate them alone?" Mbairamadji said.

Sources said Adjabo has relatives who live in town. He's being held in custody on a $1,000 cash-only bond.